Cupcakes and Conversation Hearts
by Foibles and Fables
Summary: Lexie Grey was one of those girls who actually did enjoy the cliches. Those feelings came to a head on Valentine's Day. Mark/Lexie


**Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy is the property of Shonda Rhimes and ABC. This writing is for entertainment purposes only and is not for profit.**

It was much too early in the morning for the interns in the locker room - many of whom were running on less than a few hours of sleep – to be so energetic. The young men and women were chattering loudly and cheerfully over the clamor of lockers, the females giggling as the men bashfully tried to talk to them or hand them gifts. Everyone seemed to be coupling off and forming their own little world.

This behavior could occur during no day other than February fourteenth. Love was undeniably in the air of Seattle Grace Hospital, and not even the newbie interns could escape from Cupid's well-aimed arrows.

Lexie Grey shrugged off her jacket and studied her friends. They were all acting like little third-graders who had just decorated their cardboard Valentine boxes and were excitedly telling each other who had given them what, often interrupting one another. Nobody was letting anyone get a word in edgewise.

Steve and Ryan were pelting each other with conversation hearts, the chalky little things clanging annoyingly when they missed and struck a locker instead. Steve, laughing hysterically, almost fell over the bench trying to dodge a yellow one. It rolled near Lexie's foot, and her eyes caught the saying on it. "E-MAIL ME." What the hell ever happened to "BE MINE"?

Graciella squealed loudly and threw her arms around a very blushing Leo, who had just handed her a chocolate cupcake. She happily began to eat it, some frosting smearing across her lips. _Breakfast of champions_, Lexie thought as she observed. Over in the corner, Pierce and Megan were getting pretty close over a bouquet of flowers. Lexie sighed deeply, sitting down on the bench, torn between missing all this and not missing it at all.

She was glad to be in a real (but still secret, annoyingly enough) relationship with Mark, who would probably never have a candy fight with one of his friends. At least not while he was totally sober. And he didn't usually blush when Lexie hugged him, but he definitely did when she did _other_ things. He had probably been past this puppy love stuff for a while, and he's taken her with him.

Still, even though she'd been through it all before, there was just something she liked so much about the mushy part of Valentine's Day. There was something pure and romantic about baking somebody a big old batch of cupcakes and icing them yourself. But, she decided, she could live without it. She was happier with Mark than she would be with anyone else plus Valentine's Day.

She stood and opened her locker. Her eyes were pulled to a medium-sized pink bag at the bottom, a card haphazardly stapled to it. Feeling her heart rate pick up, she pulled the envelope off of the surprise gift and tore it open. The card was a standard Valentine's Day type, with a big purple heart on the cover. The inside had no print, only a message in handwriting. A smile pulled at her cheeks as she began to read it, seeing that he obviously worked hard to make it legible for her.

_Little Grey,_ scratched out, _Lexie,_

_You'd better appreciate this gift. I had to come in ungodly early so that I could sneak this into your locker unseen. I'm actually writing this at the nurses' station right now, and I'm paranoid that Boki is reading over my shoulder. But anyway…_

_I honestly had no idea what to get you. There's still a lot I don't know about you, I mean, like, the specific stuff. So I just went with what I do know: the clichéd stuff. I figured that you like hearts and flowers just as much as any other girl, but there's something more you'd like as well. I'm sorry to say that I couldn't guess what that was. But I want to learn. I want to know all about you. So I promise, when you (hopefully) come to see me tonight, I'll give you whatever it is you want. Candlelit dinner, a romantic movie, amazing sex, I can do it all. I'll even wear the blue underwear if you want, I know they're your favorite. All you have to do is tell me. I hope this will be a Valentine's Day for you to remember._

_So have a great day, Lexie. Hope I see you tonight. You know where to find me…that's basically what started this whole thing in the first place._

_P.S.: Smell its neck._

Lexie read the note three times before it sunk in, bringing with it a feeling that made her heart flutter in that carefree way. He was trying. Underneath his mature exterior was a romantic who liked February fourteenth just as much as anyone. He pegged her correctly; she hated to admit it, but she really did love the clichés. And he didn't go overboard with it, like by decorating her locker with flowers and candles, something that made her cringe to think about.

Knowing full well how widely she was smiling, she tore into the bag. She didn't look at all out of place. Basically everyone else in the locker room was doing the same thing. Inside of the pale pink bag was a heart-shaped box of chocolates, the obligatory gift. Then, her fingers brushed past something soft and very pliant. She removed it, revealing a simple teddy bear. Its fuzzy surface was covered in curly pink and white fur, and a red satin bow was tied around its neck. As its shiny black eyes stared lifelessly up at her, Lexie almost laughed out loud. This was beyond cliché.

Then, almost like a divine revelation, a thought struck her. She opened the card again, reading the post script of Mark's message.

After checking over both shoulders, making sure everyone was still wrapped up in their own affairs, she quickly drew the stuffed bear to her face and sniffed its neck.

Her stomach flip-flopped and her throat went dry, color creeping up her neck and into her cheeks as she grinned quite goofily.

His cologne.

Much like they themselves, it was a great new twist on an old cliché. And it worked very, very well. Worlds better than a crappy saying on a sugar heart or a little extra icing on a cupcake. It was real.


End file.
